Shirt or like garment



March 9, 1943.. F, D1 IUGLIO 2,313,521

SHIRT OR LIKE GARMENT Filed 'June 2e, 1941 Y In" :'11.

Patented Mar. 9, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHIRT OR LIKE GARMENT Frank Di Iuglio, New Haven, Conn.

Application `lune 26, 1941, SerialNo. 399,778

3 Claims.

This invention relates to shirts, and particularly to the construction of mens outer or dress shirts.

The invention specifically relates to the manufacture and construction of the center front portion of the shirt, in which part the buttonholes are formed. Mens shirts, as now manufactured, are provided with two meeting edges which overlap each other, the under edge portion having the buttons sewed thereon and the upper edge portion which overlaps and covers the under portion being provided with buttonholes through which the buttons project when the shirt is worn. These overlapping edges are usually reinforced or stiffened in some manner, particularly the outer edge portion in which the buttonholes are provided, and it is with this portion of the shirt that the present invention is particularly concerned.

It is desirable that this portion of the shirt be stronger than other parts as it is subject to considerable wear, in that the shirt must be buttoned and unbuttoned each time it is worn. It is, however, undesirable to make this part of the garment too thick and heavy, both on account of the material required and also on account of the fact that the garment would thereby be rendered somewhat cumbersome. I contemplate in the present invention the use of an additional strip or fold of material, which may be applied to the central portion of the front buttonhole strip to extend longitudinally thereof, which additional member will reinforce the buttonhole stay piece of the shirt, and at the same time will require little additional material and will add to the appearance of the garment.

One object of the invention is the provision of a shirt having a buttonhole strip or stay piece of improved construction.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an outer shirt having a center front portion or buttonhole stay piece provided with a longitudinally extending ornamental strip of two-ply thickness extending longitudinally of the shirt and disposed substantially centrally of the stay piece.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a shirt embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the front center or buttonhole stay piece of the shirt;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a composite view showing the various elements employed in the construction of the stay piece shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a construction of modied form;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View on line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a View similar to Fig. 4, showing the parts entering into the construction of the stay piece shown in Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a further modification.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention I have shown a mans outer shirt, designated generally by the numeral I0, the shirt having a collar II and cuffs I2 of any preferred form. The shirt body comprises the front portions I3 and Ill, the member I3 having provided thereon the buttonhole stay piece or center front portion designated by the numeral I5, which, as will be understood, overlaps, when worn, the edge of the body portion I4 in which are secured the buttons I6. When the edges of the shirt are overlapped, the buttons are passed through the buttonhoies Il formed in the portion I5.

The present application, as stated above, pertains particularly to the construction of the portion I5 of the shirt, in which the buttonholes are formed. It is more or less usual to provide along this portion of the shirt, extending down- Wardly from the collar as far as it is desiredfto button the same, a reinforced or stiffened portion in which the buttonholes are formed. This reinforced portin is shown more particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, and indicated bythe reference character I8'. From these figures it will be seen that a piece of material, usually of the same material as the body I3 of the shirt, may be folded so as to form a two-ply member which is secured by the rows of stitching I9 to the part I3 of the shirt front, the edge of which is folded over, as shown at I3a, so as to present a finished appearance. If desired, the strip of material I8 may be folded about a strip of stiffening material 20 so as to further stiifen the front portion of the garment.

In order to further reinforce this portion of the garment, I provide an additional strip of material, as shown at 2|, the longitudinal edges of which may be folded under, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so as to produce a strip of substantially two-ply thickness throughoutV its length. This two-ply strip ZI is then secured upon the outer surface of the usual buttonhole stay piece I8, and extends throughout the entire length of the latter. It may be secured in place by a double row of stitching 22, one on each side of the central portion of the strip, so that the buttonholes I 'I will lie therebetween. It will be seen that the strip 2l is substantially centered between the side edges of the strip I8 so as to provide a raised central rib upon the buttonhole stay piece, through which rib the buttonholes I'I are formed, as well as through the portion I8 and body I3 of the shirt. The superposed.

strip 2I may be of any desired material, such as, for example, the material of the body portion of the shirt, or it may be of a material of a contrasting color or pattern so as to serve an ornamental purpose as well as a functional purpose. As shown particularly in Fig. 3, this superposed strip is considerably narrower than the portion I8, and hence adds but little to the weight or bulk of this portion of the shirt, and requires little additional material.

.In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 of the drawing I have shown a construction of somewhat modified form in which both members I8 and 2| are formed integrally of the same piece of material, and also formed integrally with the body I3 of the shirt. From these figures of the drawing it will be seen that the body portion I3 of the Shirt is folded upon itself, as shown at 25, reversely folded, as shown at 26 and 27, and again folded, as shown at 28 and 29, and the free edge folded under, as shown at 3D. Between the portion and the portion I3, and the portions 29 and 3B, the stiffening strip 2D may be employed. This forms substantially the same construction as that represented in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawing, except that the parts are all Constructed integrally with the body I3 of the shirt. After the material has been folded as shown, the various plies may be secured in place by the rows of stitching 3| and 32, which, as shown in Fig. 5, extend upon each side of the buttonholes I1.

In this instance it will be obvious, of course,

that the strip of material 2I1superposed upon the usual buttonhole stay piece, will be of the same material as the body of the shirt itself.

In the sectional view shown in Fig. 8 of the drawing', the construction is substantially like that shown in Figs. 6 and 7, except that the body of the shirt is separate from the other parts. That is, the buttonhole stay piece 32 and the superposed central strip 33 applied thereto are constructed of an integral piece of material, and are secured by stitching to the body I3 of the shirt, the edge of which may be folded over, as shown at I3.

The stiiening strip 20 may be of any suitable material, and preferably this strip will be of fusible material so that the buttonhole stay piece may be fused so as to present a starched appearance when the shirt is laundered. This will add to the attractive appearance of the garment, although the invention is also of advantage when the stif'fening strip is merely of some heavy or relatively stiff material not capable of being fused.

. While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modication and variation'within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shirt front having a body portion with a front opening, a center front longitudinally extending buttonhole portion at one edge of said opening superposed on the body portion, and an additional strip superposed on said buttonhole portion and extending longitudinally thereof and having buttonholes extending therethrough, said additional strip comprising a plurality of plies of material whereby its outer surface is raised substantially above that of the buttonhole portion, and said additional strip being narrower than the buttonhole portion and applied thereto substantially centrally of the width thereof.

2. A shirt front having a body portion with av front opening, a center front buttonhole portion at one edge of said opening superposed on the body portion, and an additional strip, comprising a plurality of plies of material, superposed on said -buttonhole portion and extending longitudinally thereof, said additional strip being narrower than the buttonhole portion and having buttonholes extending therethrough, and said center front buttonhole portion and additional strip being formed integrally of a single folded piece of material.

`3. A shirt front having avbody portion with a front opening, a center front buttonhole portion at one edge of said opening superposed on the body portion, and an additional plural ply strip superposed on said buttonhole portion and extending longitudinally thereof, said additional strip being narrower than the buttonhole portion and having buttonholes extending therethrough, and said center front portion and additional strip being formed integrally with each other and with the body 'portion of the shirt to which these parts are attached.

' FRANK DI IUGLIO. 

